Home on the Range #061: Ranch Varmint Hunting & Winter Coyote Control

Many of us are wrapping up our fall big-game seasons, and hopefully you were successful in your hunting endeavors. Though many of us have our own livestock – and nearly no wild game can beat bacon and a well-marbled beef steak – we still love to hunt and be in the great outdoors. So, now that the snow is flying does that mean it is the end of time shooting for the year as well?… It doesn’t have to be. Something that can be beneficial, rewarding, and tie in those attributes to you and your property is winter varmint hunting and coyote control. Many people maintain coyote control over the winter by varmint hunting on their ranch, but few stop to assess the benefits they are actually receiving. Let’s venture down this rabbit hole to see all of the uplifting benefits to coyote control on your ranch in the cold, winter months!

“Home on the Range” Series Coverage on AllOutdoor

Welcome to our reoccurring series of “Home on the Range.” Here, we would like to share all of our experiences for those who may be homesteading, living off the land, hunting, farming, ranching, and truly investing in nature and the great outdoors. The ability to provide for yourself and your family can be tremendously rewarding and simultaneously difficult at times. So, in “Home on the Range” we want to share our different exploits so you can learn and hopefully we can receive your feedback along the way as well.

Ranch Varmint Hunting & Winter Coyote Control

When people think of coyote control, they immediately think of how it benefits whitetail deer and other wild game animal populations, but they overlook the most important aspect of all: you! There are a lot of personal benefits to getting outside in the winter months ensuring that area coyotes remain in check. Let’s take a gander at some of the upside to coyote control and winter varmint hunting as it benefits us.

Benefits to You

Gear Check – You never fully know what your gear is made of unless you push it to the limits (the same can be said of ourselves). So, if you are going out hunting in some of the worst/most difficult weather of the year, you will be intimately aware of just where your gear stands in quality, durability, and reliability.
Shooting Proficiency Stays Up – For the vast majority of gun owners, once the weather turns a tiny bit inclement, we are very fickle-like and run indoors to not come out again until spring. With our shooting abilities being a perishable skill, that means by the time spring arrives, we are rusty; we are behind where we could or should be. By hunting and shooting all winter, you are not only maintaining your shooting abilities, but also (potentially) improving them, too.
More Active in Commonly Sedentary Months – When most people are adding a few extra, unnecessary pounds, you might be active enough where you’re maintaining your stellar physique or improving it (just like your shooting prowess).

So, as you can see, there are quite a few reasons (and we only mentioned a sampling of them) of how braving the cold in the winter can be beneficial to you, personally. It keeps you more fit, you skip those extra “holiday” pounds hopefully, you maintain your shooting ability, and even get to more thoroughly test gear. Now, let’s look at some of the more obvious benefits to coyote control as it pertains to your property.

Benefits to your Ranch

Curb Predators – With less predators on your property, all of the other animals in your ecosystem thrive: better whitetail deer population, more wild turkeys, greater likelihood of small game like rabbits, squirrels, and grouse.
Safer Livestock and Animals – One of the greatest nuisances and dilemmas for ranchers and farmers alike is maintaining a safe property for all of their livestock. If you can have firm coyote control, then everything is more safe and likely to thrive during some of the coldest months of the year (and it is more peace of mind for you as well).
Better Knowledge of Animals and their Patterns – If you are hunting, coming and going, spending more hours on your property, and are outside during different seasons, you will gain a much richer understanding of the animal movements and patterns around. When game animals are active, when they’re quiet, and you might even spot a new species or two you didn’t realize were around.

For some people, varmint hunting and coyote control is a complete winter pastime. It provides a lot of benefits to you, your land, and you can even build camradre amongst you and those in your shooting cadre. Winter might be cold, bleak, and short on sunlight, but why not make the most of it and squeak out some positives while you’re at it. As always, let us know all of your thoughts about winter varmint hunting and coyote control in the Comments below! We always appreciate your feedback.

Photography

All of the quality photography for this article was completed by Savannah Pierson of Savvy Photage. She is an expert in her field and her assistance in creating engaging photography and content is greatly appreciated.

Adam Scepaniak